Racing games and a G27 wheel

[carling220]

I'm a big fan of car racing. I love F1 2012, but am very disappointed with other drivers such as grid and the NFS series, very poor.

The only thing I could do was download the simbin pack from steam. The graphics are really shocking and do ruin the games, but the characteristics of the game are really good, as I used to play GTR 2 when it came out.

Obviously my X Box pad is not very good, but it's even more so on the simbin titles.

Firstly, is anyone else disappointed with only having F1 2012 worth playing that looks good and plays well? It's not a proper SIM, but at least it gives you the impression of one.

Are there any graphical mods for the simbin titles?



I'm very close to ordering a G27.
http://gaming.logitech.com/en-gb/product/g27-racing-wheel

I'm just wondering if A, is that the best place to order from? I can't find it in stock at local stores (in UK). B, is it still as it was last time I looked, worth paying the extra for?

C, have I missed some games, a modern good looking sim?

Cheers any info appreciated.

 

[BrightCandle]

The other make to really look into is fanatic. They make really great wheels and pedal sets.

 

[Dankk]

The Simbin games are great if you're looking for racing simulators. They focus less on pretty graphics, and more on realistic car handling and physics.

The G27 is a great piece of kit if you can afford it.

Firstly, is anyone else disappointed with only having F1 2012 worth playing that looks good and plays well? It's not a proper SIM, but at least it gives you the impression of one.

This is kind of a dumb question. "Looks good and plays well" is entirely your own opinion. There are plenty of other racing games worth playing besides F1 2012, that "look good and play well". GRID 2 is my favorite right now. It's not a simulator, no; but it's still very meaty and fun to play.

Realism =/= "plays well".

 

[Stringjam]

Have you not tried Shift2: Unleashed?

 

[reallyscrued]

I know exactly how you feel.

I have a Logitech MOMO - only game that is fun to play on the PC, even to this day - is Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed.

It sucks there's only one brand of car in the game, but it handles close to a sim,the scenery is great, and it's challenging. Too bad it's old as hell; to play it, you'll need nGlide.

I don't know why it's so hard to find a racing game that handles somewhat realistically that doesn't have you looping around boring race tracks the whole time on the PC.

NFS: Shift and Shift Unleashed have some of the worst handling models of any racing games - it's actually a step down from PU, didn't know it'd be possible. The cars handle with stupid physics; they pivot around a central point during turns. Cockpit view might fool you into thinking you have four wheels on the ground but any other camera angle reveals how primitive it is. In PU, you could feel four tires planted in the ground, one wheel might lose traction before the other 3 and it causes the weight of the car to shift realistically.

Grid is very arcadey and its redeeming if you want to turn your brain off and just loop familiar track ad nauseum.

The SimBin games are awesome in how they handle but I find them fundamentally boring. I'd love that handling model in a racer with cops, or knockout tournaments, driving along the countryside, etc, but the whole legitimate racing thing isn't my cup of tea.

Why oh why couldn't they make NFS:SHIFT just copy SimBin's physics, no one wants to powerslide around the whole track; Shift's regular mode is like every other game's Drift mode, and Shift's Drift mode is just outright ludicrous.

Short of finding a way to time travel to 2030 when they might figure out how to emulate Forza on the PC, we're pretty much stuck.

 

[reallyscrued]

Double Post.

 

[manko]

NFS: Shift and Shift Unleashed have some of the worst handling models of any racing games

Look into the community handling mods at nogripracing.com.

 

[carling220]

Dannk that's a good point. I do enjoy Grid actually at times, I just had my sim eyes on. I should more specifically say i'm a bit frustrated with the lack of modern realistic games.

Also, shift 2 unleashed handles peculiarly. Reading on the net there seems to be a theory that the reaction time between input reaction is far too high compared with other games and can cause the issues?

I'll look in to them mods though regarding shift 2 manko. Because it reminds me of GT5 a bit actually, looks quite good.

 

[Stringjam]

Dannk that's a good point. I do enjoy Grid actually at times, I just had my sim eyes on. I should more specifically say i'm a bit frustrated with the lack of modern realistic games.

Also, shift 2 unleashed handles peculiarly. Reading on the net there seems to be a theory that the reaction time between input reaction is far too high compared with other games and can cause the issues?

I'll look in to them mods though regarding shift 2 manko. Because it reminds me of GT5 a bit actually, looks quite good.

I actually almost quit playing the game before finding the handling mod. It totally changes the way the cars react.

I would also keep an eye on Project C.A.R.S. I'm not sure what the release date is on it, but I think it's going to be great.

 

[balloonshark]

I would also keep an eye on Project C.A.R.S. I'm not sure what the release date is on it, but I think it's going to be great.

Does Q1 2014 sound right for a release date?

Also have a look into iracing, rfactor, simraceway, etc.

This site may interest you. http://insidesimracing.tv/pages/section/PC-Racing

If you have a PS3 GT5 is pretty good and GT6 will be released this holiday season. I've been playing GT5 for 2 years with a G27.

 

[mizzou]

i like my PS3 controller on games like NFS Hot Pursuit

but I really like my logitech MOMO on more precision based games like NASCAR and DIRT

 

[carling220]

Well my G27 has been shipped on next say delivery so I expect delivery tomorrow .

I have quite a lot of games ready.

I have to say the sim bin games have really filled my sim void, even with the Xbox pad they're a lot of fun. It came with lots of race 07 expansions so there's lots of cars/tracks.

Combined with GTR 2 /race 07 + extras, there is of course gran turismo 5 (ps3), Grid, some NFS stuff, and also f1 2012 I can attack!

 

[balloonshark]

If you have GT5 or perhaps other console games you have got to check out this simple procedure for changing the lock to lock degree of rotation. I tried it last night and it works great. It should also work with G25 and DFGT wheels.

http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=286646

I wish I had known about this 2 years ago.

 

[carling220]

Well, all be it with no sound, i've just tested the g27 with gt5 on the ps3. Just ran a hdmi lead from my ps3 in to my PC monitor as a quick test.

It's like getting a brand new game it's much better. Just need to find a stable solution. The ps3 is hooked to my 40inch TV, desk and wheel to a PC monitor with no sound out put, and means spreading a wire all across the room (HDMI) in order to play lol.

But yeah very impressive. I also like the way it allows you to change from paddle, in to the gear stick without clutch, then when you press the clutch, it then realizes and you can't change the gears without it after that point, unless you go back to paddle. Very clever.

 

[marcplante]

[delete duplicate post]

 

[marcplante]

I've stretched the life of my GTR2 Sim by getting a LOT of aftermarket tracks at Nogrip racing. That and running with my logitech wheel in front of my 50" Plasma screen and surround sound sitting on my spare recaro SRD seat make it a fair amount of fun. As someone who drives on real tracks, I like to be able to play on reenditions of them with my simulator.

There are a couple online options, though the track offerings might be a little US-centric that have good graphics and physics...iracing.com (subscription model unfortunately, but often discounted pretty heavily) and Rfactor. Simbin also released a new sim with what seem like better graphics, but their pricing model seems askew. Shame about Grid2. I was hoping to play it to update GTR2...guess not.

 

[carling220]

A slight bump, but I found this thread in my bookmarks.

F1 2013 is a big improvement over F1 2012, thats is for anyone who likes F1, I'm not sure it's that big in the US.

 

[syd2oo2]

Nobody is mentioning Power and Glory mod for GTR2. In my opinion it looks good and handles great. And if I'm racing in a sim, I'm going to be looking at the patch of road directly in front of me, and maybe glance in the mirrors from time to time if someones is hounding me. Don't see where you would find the time to look at the scenery in a proper sim.